James R. Peters ’58

Jim died Aug. 11, 2024, in Portland, Maine. He was 87.

He came to Princeton from Brighton High in Rochester, N.Y. Jim started as an engineering student but switched to the psychology department. He was a member of Colonial Club, rowed freshman and JV crew, and was head manager for the heavyweight crew his junior year. He was also a member of Orange Key and the Rochester Club.

Jim earned an MBA and worked for Exxon Mobil before becoming VP of a foreign car dealership. In Rochester, he volunteered with the St. Andrews Youth Group and found his true calling in youth ministry and counseling. He enrolled at Andover Newton Theological Seminary, where he received a master’s in divinity and then enrolled in a doctor of psychology program at Boston University.

In 1984, while at BU, Jim had a near fatal car accident that changed the course of his life. His stubbornness and desire to begin restoring the antique car he was picking up when he had the accident proved the recipe to get him walking again after being told he’d likely be confined to a wheelchair. He consequently learned to manage a telephone hotline, developing a training program for phone volunteers, while continuing to volunteer on the St. Andrews vestry committee. And that ’49 Lincoln he finished restoring was a beauty.

Jim was predeceased by his wife, Cindy, and is survived by their son and daughter and three grandchildren. The class extends its deepest sympathy to them all.